U.S. Jewelry & Watch Sales Soft in March

Sales of fine jewelry and watches in the American market continued to soften in March, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Sales of fine jewelry and watches edged ahead by 2.3 percent in March, when compared to the same month a year ago. This was the smallest monthly gain in two years. Further, it is a continuation of weak consumer demand which has characterized the U.S. market since the beginning of the calendar year.

For the first three months of 2014, fine jewelry and watch sales in the U.S. market were up 2.4 percent. By category, fine jewelry sales (excluding watches) were up 2.2 percent in March, and advanced by 2.3 percent for the first quarter. Fine watches posted a 2.8-percent sales gain in March and a 3.5-percent increase for the first quarter of 2014.

The graph below summarizes fine jewelry and watch sales trends by month since the beginning of 2013.

The monthly sales figures for 2014 were significantly revised by the government in late April, and they show a much weaker sales trend than the preliminary numbers which were reported earlier. This is particularly disappointing, since February sales – with the important Valentine’s Day period – were much softer than originally reported.

While our jewelry sales forecast for the U.S. market calls for a six-seven percent increase in sales in 2014 when compared to 2013, the current trends suggest that we should trim our forecast. However, we will wait for April and May data before publishing an update of our jewelry sales forecast for 2014.